WESTWOOD, N.J.—A freelance photographer from Westwood caught in the 2017 “Operation Safety Net” campaign that arrested 79 child predators and child pornography offenders was sentenced to six years in prison April 26, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced.
James R. Agin, 71, will be ineligible for parole for the first three-years of his six-year state prison sentence and will have to register as a sex offender and be subject to parole supervision for life, Grewal said. Superior Court Judge Frances McGrogan in Bergen County sentenced Agin.
Agin was caught Sept. 19, 2017, when investigators raided his residence, seizing his computers, which later were found to contain hundreds of videos and images of child pornography, Grewal said.
“By sending defendants like Agin to prison, we deliver the message that possessing and distributing child pornography are very serious crimes—crimes that create a market for the terrible abuse of innocent children,” said Grewal. “This prison sentence reflects our determination to prosecute these offenders aggressively using New Jersey’s tough child pornography laws.”
Investigators with “Operation Safety Net”—a multi-agency child protection operation led by the New Jersey State Police—traced online images of child pornography to an IP address linked to Agin, Grewal said.
Agin had previously been sentenced to probation in 2007 after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography in Bergen County, Grewal said.
“Offenders like Agin who distribute child pornography online encourage and perpetuate the cruel sexual exploitation of children,” said Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Protecting children is a priority mission, and we are fully committed to these collaborative efforts to investigate and lock up such offenders.”
The news of Agin’s prison term comes as a new similar effort—”Operation Home Alone”—arrested 16 people who traveled to an undercover safe house where they allegedly were prepared to meet minors for sex, who were actually undercover law enforcement agents posing as minors online.
“The State Police and our partners will continue to relentlessly scour the internet to locate and arrest deviants who, by sharing these images repeatedly, continue to victimize innocent children long after the actual assaults,” said Col. Patrick Callahan of the New Jersey State Police.
“Attorney General Grewal and Director Allende urged anyone who has information about the distribution of child pornography on the internet—or who suspects improper contact by persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children—to contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at (888) 648-6007.”